OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary soccer team opened conference action Wednesday with a big win over Northwestern College.

The Flames won 2-0 in their Great Plains Athletic Conference opener. The Flames are now 1-0 in the GPAC and 3-0-2 overall.

"Our team is playing with so much fire right now," CSM Coach Jordan Irsik said. "It was fun to be on the sideline and win our first conference game. We knew this game would be a battle so coming out with the desire we did was really important."

Alivia Schade got the shutout in net for the Flames. She had seven saves as the Flames outshot Northwestern 15-10.

"Alivia has been playing at such a high level this season," Irsik said. "Her confidence is contagious and it is exciting watching her play to her full potential. She's leading our team from the back and when she's at her best our team is at our best together.

"I'm really proud to watch her continue to grow every day."

Abbie Anderson scored CSM's first goal at 11:15. Teammates Marissa Ring and Camila Munoz earned assists. The Flames added an insurance goal at 39:54 from Kylie Anderson. Assists were credited to Libbie Brezenski and Reagan Boex.

"I think our entire team stepped up today," Irsik said. "It was a good time to get some of our of younger players some minutes in an important game. They really stepped up and played well together."

The Flames resume play Saturday at 2 p.m. at Dordt University.